WHILE RUMMAGING AROUND IN MY PHOTO LIBRARY LOOKING for street photography pictures-pictures which are most often made (by me) in cities in foreign countries (see my new street photos folder on the WORK page) ~ Tuscany-I was snared by a handful of Tuscany landscape pictures that were made with a long focal lens. For whatever reason, most, but not all, of of my Tuscany landscapes were made with that lens. Apparently, to my eye and sensibilities, that is how I was inclined to “see” it. In any event, it seemed logical to post these pictures-culled from many-for your viewing pleasure and as a follow up to my recent entry, re: making pictures with a long focal length lens.
On a different topic: re: “…the ever growing feeling that everything I photograph just seems derivative anymore” - a quote from a comment left on TOP. On that topic, consider this:
For the first several years one struggles with the technical challenges, making sure and steady progress - a learning curve and growth process that is rewarding, stimulating and self-renewing. But, eventually every photographer who sticks with it long enough arrives at a technical plateau where production of a technically good photograph is relatively easy. It is here that real photography starts and most photographers quit. ~ Brooks Jensen
We have certainly reached a plateau, technical wise, were the making of a “technically good photograph is relatively easy.”. A fact that seems to concern-some might even say “threaten”-those “serious” amateur photographers who have arrived at that plateau after a long and concentrated effort to reach it. iMo, at the very least, I believe it pisses them off that the un-serious picture taking rabble can make pictures which-to the average viewer’s eye and sensibilities-rivals there own pictures.
Well, iMo, those “serious” makers have been skating on thin ice, status wise, cuz it was only a matter of time until the march of technological progress, in this case re: the ability to make technically good photographs, washed away their claim to picture making fame. I believe that situation might cause a significant number of serious amateurs to to think, if everyone can do it and I don’t stand out, what’s the point? Hence, their reaction to this situation has been, almost across the board, to claim that their pictures are technically superior to those made with an iPhone (the device at the top of their derision list).
However, whether they are aware of it or not, that epithetical pronouncement exposes their obviousness to the fact that the average viewer, much more so in the fine art world, doesn’t give a crap about technical perfection. For the average viewer, a decent depiction of a person, place or thing is more than good enough for them. In the fine art world, a decent depiction is good enough as long as a photograph is about more than just what is depicted.
All of that written, it brings me back to my first quote “…the ever growing feeling that everything I photograph just seems derivative anymore”….
…inasmuch as most serious amateur photographs make photographs that are, primarily, referent-centric and are made, more or less, according to the “standard” rules and conventions of the medium, it is no surprise that many might end up feeling that their photographs are derivative. Given that most of their referents are those which are considered by the average viewer to be “beautiful” or interesting, it is only a matter of time until they either run out of such referents and start to repeat themselves, or, that they realize that their pictures look an awful lot like everyone else’s pictures.
And, it is at that point that their enthusiasm for making pictures wanes, cuz, if you don’t stand out (cuz everyone can do it), what’s the point?
